Steve Dykes/Special to The OregonianDon't expect to see much of Jacquizz Rodgers or his older brother, James, in today's Oregon State scrimmage.

I covered four college football coaches as a beat writer, and none of them -- Rich Brooks and Mike Bellotti at Oregon, Jerry Pettibone at Oregon State and Pokey Allen at Portland State -- habitually closed football practices or restricted access to scrimmages during the seasons in which I covered them.

I bring this up, because Oregon State's scrimmage today is open to the public and Oregon's scrimmage Tuesday will be closed to both the public and the press.

I'm sure UO coach Chip Kelly has his reasons for locking the gates.

The Ducks have a very tough opener at Boise State, and Kelly might have surprises planned for the Broncos.

The world has changed since I covered Bellotti's Oregon team in 1996, my last season as a beat writer. The internet was not the pervasive source of instant information that it is now. Nobody then could transmit video into cyberspace with a phone. Nobody twittered.

And yet, I still think shutting off the public from practices and scrimmages is more about a coach's need for control than it is about any fear an opposing team will gain some damaging insight.

Last year's USC practices and scrimmages usually were wide open. Trojans coach Pete Carroll often has said he wants his players to become used to performing in front of fans.

The coach who most restricted the access of fans and reporters to practices was Washington's Tyrone Willingham.